As our population ages, more and more seniors call 911 to get help, increasing demand on the system.

A new kind paramedic is helping to fill the gap. And they don’t need an ambulance. That’s according to a study published earlier today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

These paramedics don’t respond to emergencies. They’re called community paramedics because they don’t act as first responders to people who call 911 for emergencies like motor vehicle accidents and heart attacks.

Community paramedics do health promotion and disease prevention at special clinics. In theory, the clinics can be set up anywhere they’re needed.

The study looks at a health promotion program for seniors called Community Paramedicine at Clinic (CP@clinic). It’s a pilot program in which researchers set up clinics right inside subsidized apartment buildings for low-income seniors.

Recently, I visited a paramedic clinic located at 50 Tuxedo Court in Toronto’s east end. The building was chosen because it’s what paramedics call a 911 “hotspot.” That means it generates a disproportionate number of 911 calls per year.

Toronto paramedics bring weekly clinics to buildings with high number of 911 calls 1:01 CBC

CP@clinic is set up as a weekly drop-in centre staffed by paramedics. No appointment is necessary. They post signs in the lobby and do walkabouts in the hallways, knocking on the doors of seniors who called 911 recently.

Anybody who drops by the clinic gets their blood pressure and blood sugar measured. They’re assessed to see if they’re at risk of falling.

The paramedics also do health education and promotion on diet and exercise. They make referrals for mental health services, smoke cessation and others.

As needed, they can speak to the resident’s family doctor. If they find that a senior is having chest pain or is otherwise ill, they summon an emergency paramedic to take the patient to the hospital.

CP@clinic is set up as a weekly drop-in centre staffed by paramedics. No appointment is necessary. They post signs in the lobby and do walkabouts in the hallways, knocking on the doors of seniors who called 911 recently.

Anybody who drops by the clinic gets their blood pressure and blood sugar measured. They’re assessed to see if they’re at risk of falling.

The paramedics also do health education and promotion on diet and exercise. They make referrals for mental health services, smoke cessation and others.

As needed, they can speak to the resident’s family doctor. If they find that a senior is having chest pain or is otherwise ill, they summon an emergency paramedic to take the patient to the hospital.

Reducing demand on 911 servicesResearchers from McMaster University compared the community paramedic clinics to usual care at six low-income buildings located in Hamilton, Ontario.

In the buildings offering CP@clinic, 911 calls dropped from four calls per 100 apartment units per month to just over three. That’s a big drop in the number of 911 calls. The apartment clinics picked up undiagnosed hypertension in 36 patients and elevated blood pressure in 75 people with previously diagnosed hypertension.

After attending CP@clinic, the blood pressure dropped significantly. The clinics detected undiagnosed diabetes in 14 seniors and another 50 with blood sugars that put them at risk of getting diabetes within the next 10 years. There were other indicators that the clinic helped seniors take better care of themselves.

This is the first well-designed clinical trial to show that community paramedics can reduce demand on 911 services while improving the health of people who call 911.

In some parts of Canada, 911 calls are going up eight per cent a year. In rural Nova Scotia, community paramedics work alongside nurse practitioners; together, they have reduced visits to the ER by 40 per cent.

Paramedics in the Ottawa region have developed a program that provides rapid access to palliative care services so that patients with terminal illnesses can remain at home.